since i had a gift card i went to Outback last night(the nearest one takes me close to an hour to get to). am i the only one who finds the "Australian" theme annoying? i mean there is nothing Australian about the place. they're based in Florida and serve American food; yet they pretend to be Australian. ok that was a stupid rant
Ive been to Outback Steakhouse once when I was living in Windsor, ON. While the food is really good, the Australian theme did kind of puzzle me a bit. It seemed more like a southern steakhouse motif with Australian stuff all over the place more than it did an actual Australian steakhouse. I have the same issues with East Side Mario's too. A lot of NYC stuff, & the food is really good, but not much else NY about it...
I haven't been to Outback Steakhouse in years....but now that you mention it, the Australian theme is out of place. :lol:
not even. Olive Garden at least serves food similar to food served at Italian-American restaurants Outback serves American food with Australian sounding names and Australian stuff on the wall.
Just looking at the menu: -None of the burgers have beetroot. That's an automatic Australian fail. -Aussie Cheese Fries: Topped with melted Monterey Jack, Cheddar, chopped bacon and served with a spicy ranch dressing. I've never seen an Australian place that puts cheese and bacon on fries, I've never seen ranch used as a dipping sauce, and half the time we call fries chips anyway. -They're actually calling something "Shrimp on the Barbie"? -I don't think wings are really a common order here. -I don't think BBQ ribs tend to be either.
Its never bothered me, and their blooming onions are delicious. On a side note, I just went to Fong's Pizza for the first time this week. I thought it was really cool how much they mash cultures. Its a Chinese pizza place. We got crab rangoon pizza and it was great. The also serve most of there drinks in tiki cups. Sorry if that was off topic lol
They wanted to introduce a dingo petting zoo, but they were afraid too many babies would be taken, so the Aussie theme became much more vague.
I've eaten there a few times. Seems like generic American bistro food to me, similar to TGI Fridays or Planet Hollywood or whatever, but with some silly Australian claim to it. Food isn't bad but the supposed Australian theme seems completely bogus. Probably bunch of ppl in some think tank said "We need a gimmick for a new restaurant chain to set us apart. What can we do" and Outback was the least stupid of the stupid ideas
I love the Alice Springs Chicken and their filet as well. But everybody's right, it's not very Australian. Oh, well. I still love it.
Well, in my side of Europe, we don't have any of those (though we do have "Buffalo Grill" steakhouses, who desperately try to emulate an "American Cowboy" Atmosphere). but it actually sounds like something I'd enjoy. I like silly themes to restaurants xD Do the waiters speak with an outrageously overdone Australian accent, at least?
Ah, we used to have an Outback where I live, but it shut down when Hurricane Ivan hit us in 2004 and never opened back up. I'm so sad because I absolutely loved their food. There's some cabaret show thing there now, though.
Yeah, it was a stupid rant but I pretty much agree. I don't find it annoying; it's just a gimmick. The food's pretty good though (though it's overpriced as all hell). I, myself, prefer my local hole-in-the-wall places.